I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

The smiling strategist, who had just been 'taught a lesson' not long ago but showed no remorse whatsoever, chuckled as he fiddled with the folding fan he always carried with him.

"Isn't this... backed up by Sensei?"

"While the 'True and False Princess' thing is indeed somewhat dangerous, with Sensei around, even those... 'unrestrained' Gerina students won't be able to cause any trouble, right? nyah, fufu~..."

Amamiya raised an eyebrow and said irritably, "What if I can't control the whole situation?"

"It doesn't matter if Sensei doesn't have a firm grasp on the overall situation."

Nia answered very 'seriously': "Although this will ruin the academy exchange between Hyakki Yagyō and Gehena, as the saying goes... 'After destruction comes construction, after death comes life.' Perhaps the relationship between Hyakki Yagyō and Gehena will actually deepen?"

This is clearly a case of "the more trouble, the better"...

Amamiya stood up and, amidst Nia's expression of trepidation and embarrassment, intensified her efforts, giving her a new round of 'discipline'—rubbing the pair of smooth, textured demon horns on her head, one of which was broken off.

"Oh dear~ Sen, Seni's touch... Ouch... That's quite a harsh punishment..."

The sensation was a mix of tingling and itching, with a slight pain, as if her cerebral cortex was being pressed with a look of disgust, which made Nia cry out pitifully.

"Sen, Sensi... I've really been reflecting on my actions this time~ So can you forgive me? Nya haha..."

"Ugh...it feels so good...no, it hurts~"

Amamiya: "..."

There's an inexplicable feeling that it's 'not a punishment but a reward'.

After a brief eye contact with Nia, who seemed to be in pain or enjoying herself, he released her hand in disgust.

After a few seconds of silence, Amamiya finally confirmed the situation with Nia and Makoto, who was still somewhat bewildered and didn't quite understand what was going on.

"So, you're planning to have Iroha from the Pandemonium replace Chise from the Onmyōbu to play the role of 'The Kidnapped Princess' in this performance with Rakuhime, in order to highlight the... good relationship between Gehenna and Hyakki Yagyō."

Noticing the unusual blush on Nia's cheeks when her horn was touched, and that expression that seemed to be a mixture of pain and pleasure, Makoto, who was usually 'iron-blooded and serious' but was actually just as out of touch as Arle, had a subtle change in expression.

The thought of having a pair of horns on her head made Makoto, who is usually described as "silly" with high emotional intelligence, blush for the first time ever.

'Sensei seems to really enjoy touching its horns...'

'Should we...'

Noticing Amamiya's gaze, Makoto lowered her head immediately, driven by a complex mix of emotions.

Then he straightened his chest and raised his head, pretending to be deep for a while.

“…Sensei, that’s a good question.”

"This plan was proposed by President Nia..."

"I think President Nia makes a lot of sense!"

Finally, Makoto added in a low voice, "...When she heard the news, Ibuki was very interested and offered to take on the role of 'princess' herself. Then Iroha found an excuse to take her away temporarily."

Amamiya: "..."

If it weren't for the need to maintain appearances, he would have loved to slap his forehead to show his disapproval of Makoto's 'foolish behavior'.

It seems Makoto hasn't realized at all that Iroha might have actually been replaced from the very beginning...

If someone can disguise themselves and sneak into the Pandemonium, then their security measures must be incredibly flawed...

While Professor Laughing's ability to disguise himself as Iroha and even take Ibuki with him is partly due to his own skillful disguise, Makoto's actions... were far too reckless.

Are they not allowed to have more than two members of the Demon Palace accompany them?

“Then…” Amamiya looked at Nia, “Nia made a last-minute change… the change was to ‘The Real and the Fake Princess.’”

"After kidnapping the princess, the thieves deliberately created a 'real and fake princess' scenario to confuse the participants. They not only had to rescue the kidnapped princess, but also had to distinguish between the real and fake princesses...?"

Nia nodded: "That's it~ Sensei, is there anything else you'd like to add to my impromptu idea?"

"..."

Amamiya didn't speak, but calmly glanced at Nia.

It's hard to tell whether she already knew about this situation or it just happened to coincide with the potential issue of Iroha being 'switched'.

After giving Nia a look that said "I'll deal with you later," Amamiya left with a simple farewell before heading straight to the main venue of the Academy Exchange Meeting—the Whirlpool Cinema Village.

Under the direction of Nia and Makoto, the student council presidents of "Hyakki Yagyō" and "Ghena," the academy exchange meeting and the "Warakuhime" performance have begun in full swing.

Upon returning to the scene, Amamiya immediately noticed that the surrounding streets were much more lively than they had been not long ago.

There weren't many students in Gehenna's class; what was truly noteworthy were the students from the Hyakki Yagyō (Night Parade of One Hundred Demons) who had poured out of the performance preparation room to prepare for the show.

The "Warakuhime" performance is, after all, a very special 'large-scale multi-person live show', which is especially famous and popular in the Hyakki Yagyō (Night Parade of One Hundred Demons) area.

Naturally, the students were much more enthusiastic about the performances.

The girls changed into more vibrant, even colorful, antique-style clothes that had a more contemporary feel.

Combined with their youthful energy and the extremely widespread use of various animal ears or tails... they give off a very unique feeling.

Like the most vibrant flower, it blooms in the most dazzling season of summer.

Then, this scene was photographed with a clear camera, framed, and displayed for at least a century, giving it a special 'sense of the times'.

Amamiya noticed that these students, in small groups, were also keenly observing their surroundings and searching for something as they marched through the streets.

Without a doubt... it's about finding the 'key clue to the princess's kidnapping,' just like in the storyline.

After a moment's thought, Amamiya wiped her face, and a ghostly blue flame adhered to it, turning it into a black and white smoky mask.

In this event, which resembled the 'Mask of the Red Death', wearing a mask was meaningless, but it did fit the style to some extent.

Donning a mask, Amamiya headed straight for the 'meeting point' she had arranged with Izuna, Tsukuyomi, and Komachi.

Upon arriving, Amamiya immediately noticed the girls from the Ninjutsu Research Club who were 'pacing around in a panic'.

As for why they were in such a hurry, even flustered... the reason is obvious.

They were circling around the little blonde girl in military uniform, her eyes brimming with tears and her face streaked with sobs, wanting to comfort her but unsure how.

"Hey hey hey... Little Ibuki, don't cry. Um... you can borrow this limited edition Perolo doll temporarily..."

"Lord Ibuki?! If you're unhappy, Izuna can call the lord right now..."

"I have candy here, and..."

What's wrong with Ibuki?

Amamiya quickened her pace and went straight to the alley where the Ninjutsu Research Club and Ibuki were located.

"Ah...sen, Sensei! You've come!"

Izuna's fox ears twitched violently as her 'Lord Radar' was triggered. Without even bothering to call her 'Lord,' she ran and pulled Amamiya to Ibuki's side.

"Lord Ibuki, Izuna has summoned the lord! If you have any worries, you can tell the lord!"

No amount of comfort could compare to Izuna's words, "My lord has arrived."

Upon hearing this, Ibuki, who was at a loss and sobbing softly, immediately calmed down and stopped crying.

Having worked together before, Ibuki naturally knew who Izuna was referring to as his 'lord'.

"sen, Sensei..."

She sniffed hard, then took the tissue Xiaoman hurriedly handed her and wiped her tear-stained face clean. Ibuki looked up at Amamiya pitifully, her voice still trembling with tears, and said, "Iroha-senpai... she... she was kidnapped to protect Ibuki..."

Iroha was kidnapped? When?

The information about when Iroha was 'switched' is very important. It can directly determine roughly when Professor Laughing took action and even further speculate on her general intentions and subsequent plans.

However, Amamiya couldn't immediately ask Ibuki for detailed information such as "when".

First of all, Ibuki might not be able to pinpoint the exact time... Secondly, even if she could confirm the time, she would need to wait until she was emotionally stable before seriously considering it.

Therefore, Amamiya's first reaction was to pick up the adorable little guy, who was less than 1.3 meters tall, and hold him in her arms while gently comforting him.

"Ibuki, don't panic, don't panic..."

Strengthening the soothing power of her words with the bond of "Voices of the Stars," Amamiya said softly, "Think carefully about what exactly happened, how much of it Ibuki remembers, and then tell me."

"Uh-huh……"

The "sound healing" power that comes with the Voice of the Stars allowed Ibuki to take it a step further, calming her mind at an incredible speed.

"At that time, Ibuki was out playing with Iroha-senpai when Ibuki was suddenly blindfolded from behind..."

"The bad guy who blindfolded Ibuki told her that she had kidnapped Iroha-senpai. And he also told Ibuki..."

"If you want to save Iroha-senpai, have Ibuki give this to Sensei..."

As he spoke, Ibuki reached into the pocket of his large military uniform and handed a small card to Amamiya.

With one arm around Ibuki, holding her in his arms, Amamiya took the card Ibuki handed him with his free hand and carefully examined its contents as the girls from the Ninjutsu Research Club gathered behind him.

Xiaoman gasped, utterly astonished: "This is..."

Tsukuyomi was equally surprised and confused.

"A notice...?!"

More precisely, this is a 'crime warning' written in the style of a 'phantom thief's warning letter'.

The printed font was deliberately cut from various types of paper instead of being handwritten, eliminating the possibility of verifying the handwriting and the origin of the paper. There was also a hastily drawn logo on the back.

Amamiya paused for a moment, then felt a subtle sense of "reversal of the heavenly order".

Unexpectedly, this "heart thief" was one day given a warning letter.

After reading it through and omitting the meaningless modifiers, Amamiya concluded the true intention of this advance notice.

'To rescue Iroha, we must find the real "princess"...'

Without a doubt, the princess in question refers to the last-minute changes Nia made to the performance.

If things go as expected, I'm likely to encounter two 'Iroha's' next – one of whom is Professor Laughing in disguise.

He needs to distinguish between truth and falsehood.

Test your observational skills as a phantom thief?

You've really run into trouble.

The concept of "truth or falsehood" is meaningless in the eyes of a third party. As long as some cognition remains in the collective subconscious, even the smallest amount will be able to uncover the most authentic information.

“Sensei, we…”

Xiaoman's question made Amamiya gather her scattered thoughts.

He looked up and glanced at the airship above him, which had already taken off and stabilized, carrying Nia, Makoto, and other important members of the Yin-Yang Department and the Pandemonium.

"Let's act before it spreads..."

"Resolve it swiftly and decisively."

Chapter Thirty-Four Ruozao: There's a cow! There's a cow!

"As long as I agree to help you stall Sensei..."

"So you can... devise strategies to help me take down Sensei?"

Even amidst the dazzling and festive atmosphere of the Hyakki Yagyō (Night Parade of One Hundred Demons), there are still corners where the light doesn't reach.

In this unreachable corner of time, a secret deal is taking place between a student of the "Night Parade of One Hundred Demons" and a student of "Gehena".

Pressing on the fox mask depicting the peaceful face of Inari, Wakazama tried her best to suppress the impulsiveness and heaviness in her words.

On the holographic projection device in her hand, Iroha's figure was now being displayed.

"Yes, that's right."

Iroha spoke calmly, "You haven't... been in contact with Sensei lately, have you?"

Wakazam: "..."

These calm yet sharp words made Wakazama feel as if she had been pricked by a sharp object.

Indeed... I'm really eager to see Sensei right now, since I haven't seen him for a while.

But this is a personal matter, and not just any Tom, Dick, or Harry can make sarcastic remarks about it.

Are you... mocking me?